Oregon daily emerald., June 28, 1972, Page 3, Image 3

At workshop
Minority women
seek ‘liberation’
By SHERRY STRATTON
Of the Emerald
Who is excluded from a capitalistic system that can employ a
limited number of people?
This question was raised by Carolyn Williams, who along with
Dorothy La Fleur and Ida Morris made up the panel on “Minority
Women” which spoke to the “Women on the Move” workshop in 250
Clinical Services Building on Tuesday afternoon. Williams and La
Fleur are both graduate students at the University and Morris is an
undergraduate.
Williams said in her initial remarks she realized that regardless of
ethnicity and socio-economic background, all women have some
common biological and sociological problems. Relating to this as a
black woman she said she is aware of suppression by a society made
up of both men and women.
Oppression v. liberation
Williams said that many oppressed people aspire for things that
will oppress others by the acquisition of those things. The question to
ask, she said, was “How can we liberate ourselves without oppressing
someone else?”
Welfare mother hits *stigma *
“Welfare mothers suffer the
same stigmas as prostitutes,"
said Robin Derringer, a welfare
mother, to about 200 persons
Tuesday at the “Women on the
Move" workshop entitled,
“Women and Welfare Reform."
She said welfare women are
usually at home because they
have nowhere else to go, no cars,
no money; not because they feel
the home is a woman’s place.
Derringer also said, "The
majority of welfare recipients
are white children.” Loretta
Daniel, an active woman in
welfare groups, said, "Seventy
per cent of the children on
welfare are below twelve.”
Daniel spoke on the Y-ettes
group, a YW-YMCA—Welfare
Department group. She said the
group discussed managing
budgets, caring of clothing, and
talked some on child-raising.
Persons from this group for
med ADC, Aid to Dependent
Children. With 45 members, the
A woman trom tne audience
expressed the conflict she felt
from spending her energies
working on “band-aid reforms,”
when she really believed that a
total basic restructuring of the
system was necessary.
Williams said that oppressed
people “must think of liberation
in terms other than entry into the
system” which by its competitive
nature results in oppression for
someone.
Most people in the audience
agreed that a basic restructuring
of our socio-economic system
was necessary and that women
should begin to question roles,
norms, and values that ha /e been
taken for granted.
Examples
Some women from the
audience asked the panel how
white women could help black
women. Williams responded
saying that you can’t teach
people to liberate themselves and
gave as an example white people
working in the civil rights
movement who learned that you
can’t fight for someone else’s
freedom.
Ida Morris, a Native American
from the Chocktaw tribe of
Oklahoma, said that Native
American women are not op
pressed by their men but are
oppressed by the system.
Equality between the sexes and
sometimes inequality in favor of
women is characteristic of the
Native American tribes.
Vietnam discussed
“The most important thing about the Vietnamese War is that it’s a
national liberation struggle against colonialism and aggression from
the United States,” stated Anne Froines Tuesday evening in a
“Women on the Move” workshop on “Women’s Liberation and Third
World Liberation.”
Froines spoke to an audience of about 100 and related the women’s
liberation movement of the United States to anti-colonial movements
in other parts of the world.
“We understand much more about oppression of women in this
country because the U.S. has decided to fight a war in Vietnam,”
F'roines said. She went on to connect the plight of the Vietnamese
women with what she termed U.S. aggression.
“Recently in this country there has been a lot more information
availi 'e on aggression in Vietnam,” said Froines. “Imposition of
American cultural values on the Vietnamese people has caused as
much concern amongst the people of Vietnam as military
aggression,” she said, “you have to care more about having a Honda
or radio than you do about Vietnamese patriotism or poetry.”
“Women’s liberation is pretty ordinary and a basic topic,”
F'roines said, “what it is that makes me angry and what you have to
understand is male supremacy.”
ASUO sets Senate agenda
Fiscal appropriations and
appointments will be considered
at the ASUO Senate meeting
tonight.
The Inter-institutional Union of
Students (IUS) is requesting a
total increase of $1,590 in funds
for a Director’s salary, and in
creases in telephone and travel.
The Drug Information Center
has requested funds of about
$5,330, but has not submitted a
detailed budget.
The Graduate Student Council
has requested to transfer some of
their money to Student Com
munity Projects so they can give
some money to the Youth Hostel.
They will also ask the Senate to
match their “donation” with $200
from the Senate reserve.
Appointments for five positions
will also be considered. The
Senate meets at 7 p.m. in 101
EMU.
group tried to pass tour outs in
the state legislature in 1967. Two
of these bills were passed.
The ADC program now has a
scholarship program in which the
government backs their pledges 3
to 1. a confidence session, and an
information forum
as wealthy educated people try
too often to tell welfare people
what to do.
Derringer said, “Welfare
people have probably ex
perienced every kind of social
and racial discrimination’.’
‘Move’activities set
9- 10 Karate Demonstration 250 CSB
10- 10 15 Rreak
10:15-11:15 Anne Froines “History of Working Women" a
dramatic Reading.
11:30 “Female Sexuality" Pepper Schwartz 250 CSB
12:30 Film: “It Happens to Us" (abortion) 103 Fenton
12:50 Film: "Schmeerguntz" (feminine mystique) 103
Fenton
1:10 Short films by women filmmakers 103 Fenton
1:30-2:15 “Why and How to Learn to Speak in Front of
Groups” Marsha Trew 250 CSB
2:15-2:30 Questions, Break
2:30-4:30 Workshops. Informal discussion with Anne
Froines on "Women and the Vietnam War"
7:30-8:15 “Discrimination in the University: Can the
Government Help?” Bernice Sandler 103 Fenton
8:15-8:30 Questions, break
8:30-9:30 Panel on “Affirmative Action Programs" Jean
Leppaluoto 103 Fenton
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